Jo Siffert

Joseph Siffert ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; 7 July 1936 – 24 October 1971) was a Swiss racing driver, who competed in Formula One from Template:F1 to Template:F1. Siffert won two Formula One Grands Prix across 10 seasons.

Affectionately known as "Seppi" to his family and friends, Siffert was born in Fribourg, Switzerland, the son of a dairy owner. He initially made his name in racing on two wheels, winning the Swiss 350 cc motorcycle championship in 1959, before switching to four wheels with a Formula Junior Stanguellini. Siffert graduated to Formula One as a privateer in 1962, with a four-cylinder Lotus-Climax. He later moved to Swiss team Scuderia Filipinetti, and in 1964 joined Rob Walker's private British Rob Walker Racing Team. Early successes included victories in the 1964 and 1965 Mediterranean Grands Prix non-Championship Formula One races, both times beating Jim Clark by a very narrow margin. He won two World Championship races, one for the Rob Walker Racing Team and one for BRM. He died at the 1971 World Championship Victory Race, a non-Championship Formula One race, having his car roll over after a crash caused by a mechanical failure and being caught under the burning vehicle. Siffert was married twice and to his second wife Simone during the height of his career in the late 1960s and at the time of his death. They had two children together, Véronique and Philippe.

Life and career

Early life

Siffert was born in 1936 in the town of Fribourg, Switzerland, 35 km (22 mi) from Bern to a poor family. Aged 12, Siffert and his father went to Bern to see the 1948 Swiss Grand Prix at the Bremgarten circuit, and it was at this event where Siffert wanted to be a racing driver.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Formula One

File:Porsche 906 mit J. Siffert am 03.06.1966.jpg

Siffert at the wheel of a Porsche 906 in practice for the 1966 1000 km Nürburgring race

In 1968, Siffert drove into the F1 history books by winning the 1968 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch in Rob Walker Racing Team's Lotus 49B, beating Chris Amon's Ferrari into second place after a race-long battle. This is regarded as the last GP victory by a genuine privateer.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1971 as a BRM team driver he scored his second Formula One Championship race victory at the Austrian Grand Prix held at the Österreichring.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Sports cars

While Siffert's status in F1 grew slowly, his fame came as a leading driver for the factory Porsche effort in its quest for the World Sportscar Championship. In 1968, Siffert and Hans Herrmann won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring in a Porsche 907, marking the first major outright wins for the company, apart from a few earlier victories on twisty tracks.

File:Porsche 908 - Josef Siffert 1970-05-31.jpg

Siffert in the Porsche 908.03 at the 1970 1,000 km Nürburgring

File:1971-05-29 Joseph Siffert, Porsche 908-3 (Gegengerade).jpg

Siffert at the wheel of a Porsche 908

File:Siffert at 1969 Dutch Grand Prix.jpg

Siffert at the 1969 Dutch Grand Prix.

Later on, Siffert's driving displays in the Porsche 917 earned him several major wins in Europe. In addition, Siffert was chosen by Porsche to help launch its CanAm development programme, driving a Porsche 917PA spyder in 1969 and finishing fourth in the championship despite few entries.

In 1970 he teamed up with Brian Redman to drive a Porsche 908/3 to victory at the Targa Florio. That same year, Porsche bankrolled Siffert's seat in a works March Engineering F1 since the German company did not wish to lose one of their prize drivers to rival Ferrari. His association with March in F1 was disastrous, so he was pleased to join rival Porsche racer Pedro Rodriguez at BRM the following season.

Death

Siffert was killed in the non-championship World Championship Victory Race at Brands Hatch, Kent, England, the scene of his first victory in 1968. The suspension of his BRM had been damaged in a lap one incident with Ronnie Peterson, and broke later. This was not admitted by BRM until much later when it was accidentally divulged by a BRM ex-mechanic.<ref name=blick1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The BRM crashed and immediately caught fire. Siffert could not free himself from the burning car.

In the subsequent Royal Automobile Club (the UK organising and regulatory representative of the FIA at the time) investigation, it was discovered that Siffert had only suffered a leg fracture in the initial crash but because three fire extinguishers failed to work properly no rescuers could reach Siffert for five minutes and he died of smoke inhalation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A fire marshall stated that if the fire extinguishers worked correctly then they could have reached Siffert within 20 seconds.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

This accident led to a rapid overhaul of safety, both in-car and on circuit. On-board fire extinguishers (using BCF—bromochlorodifluoromethane, an aircraft product) became mandatory and also piped air for the drivers, direct into their helmets.

His funeral in Switzerland was attended by 50,000 people and a Gulf-Porsche 917 of Team John Wyer led the hearse and procession through the streets of Fribourg.

Legacy

In the final round of the 2007–08 A1GP season, at Brands Hatch, the A1 Team Switzerland car carried the message Jo 'Seppi' Siffert - 40th Anniversary - Brands Hatch. This commemorated his 1968 British Grand Prix victory at Brands Hatch.

File:Siffert 20150828 175746.jpg

Jo Siffert memorial bust outside Palexpo complexe (Geneva Feb.1997)

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
1962	Formula One	Ecurie Filipinetti	3	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1963	Formula One	Siffert Racing Team	9	0	0	0	0	1	14th
1964	Formula One	Siffert Racing Team	8	0	0	0	0	7	10th
		R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	2	0	0	0	1
	Trophées de France	Siffert Racing Team	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1965	Formula One	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	10	0	0	0	0	5	12th
	24 Hours of Le Mans	J.H. Simone	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
1966	Formula One	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	8	0	0	0	0	3	14th
	British Formula Two	Joakim Bonnier	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	24 Hours of Le Mans	Porsche System Engineering	1	1	0	?	1	N/A	1st
1967	Formula One	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	10	0	0	0	0	6	12th
	European Formula Two	BMW AG München	3	0	0	0	0	0	NCTemplate:Smallsup
	24 Hours of Le Mans	Porsche System Engineering	1	1	0	?	1	N/A	1st
1968	Formula One	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	12	1	1	3	1	12	7th
	European Formula Two	Bayerische Motoren Werke	2	0	0	0	0	0	NCTemplate:Smallsup
	24 Hours of Le Mans	Porsche System Engineering	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
	24 Hours of Daytona		1	1	?	?	1	N/A	1st
1969	Formula One	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	11	0	0	0	2	15	9th
	Can-Am	Porsche-Audi	8	0	0	0	1	56	4th
	European Formula Two	Bayerische Motoren Werke	3	0	1	0	1	0	NCTemplate:Smallsup
	24 Hours of Le Mans	Hart Ski Racing	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	NC
	24 Hours of Daytona	Porsche System Engineering	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	NC
1970	Formula One	March Engineering	12	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	European Formula Two	Bayerische Motoren Werke	4	0	0	0	1	0	NCTemplate:Smallsup
	Can-Am	J.W. Automotive	1	0	0	0	1	15	17th
	24 Hours of Le Mans		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
1971	Formula One	Yardley Team BRM	11	1	1	1	2	19	5th
	Can-Am	STP-Jo Siffert	6	0	0	0	3	68	4th
	European Formula Two	Jo Siffert - Chevron Racing Team	2	0	0	0	0	0	NCTemplate:Smallsup
	24 Hours of Le Mans	J.W. Automotive	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF

Template:Smallsup Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Template:Tooltip	Pts
1962	Ecurie Nationale Suisse	Lotus 21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	NED	MON Template:Small												NC	0
	Ecurie Filipinetti					BEL Template:Small			GER Template:Small
		Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8				FRA Template:Small	GBR		ITA Template:Small	USA	RSA
1963	Siffert Racing Team	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	MON Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	NED Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	USA Template:Small	MEX Template:Small	RSA				14th	1
1964	Siffert Racing Team	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	MON Template:Small													10th	7
		Brabham BT11			NED Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	ITA Template:Small
	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team											USA Template:Small	MEX Template:Small
1965	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Brabham BT11	BRM P56 1.5 V8	RSA Template:Small	MON Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	NED Template:Small	GER Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	USA Template:Small	MEX Template:Small				12th	5
1966	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Brabham BT11	BRM P60 2.0 V8	MON Template:Small													14th	3
		Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12		BEL Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	NED Template:Small	GER	ITA Template:Small	USA Template:Small	MEX Template:Small
1967	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12	RSA Template:Small	MON Template:Small	NED Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	USA Template:Small	MEX Template:Small			12th	6
1968	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12	RSA Template:Small													7th	12
		Lotus 49	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8		ESP Template:Small	MON Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	NED Template:Small	FRA Template:Small
		Lotus 49B								GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	USA Template:Small	MEX Template:Small
1969	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Lotus 49B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA Template:Small	ESP Template:Small	MON Template:Small	NED Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	USA Template:Small	MEX Template:Small			9th	15
1970	March Engineering	March 701	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA Template:Small	ESP Template:Small	MON Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	NED Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	USA Template:Small	MEX Template:Small	NC	0
1971	Yardley Team BRM	BRM P153	BRM P142 3.0 V12	RSA Template:Small													5th	19
		BRM P160			ESP Template:Small	MON Template:Small	NED Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	USA Template:Small
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Notes

• ^1{{#if:| }} – Formula Two cars occupied fifth to tenth positions in the 1969 German Grand Prix, however drivers of these cars were not eligible for championship points. The points for fifth and sixth were awarded to the drivers of the eleventh and twelfth placed cars.

Complete Formula One Non-Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
1962	Ecurie Nationale Suisse	Lotus 22	Ford 105E 1.5 L4	CAP	BRX Template:Small	LOM	LAV	GLV
		Lotus 21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4						PAU Template:Small	AIN	INT	NAP	MAL	CLP
	Scuderia Filipinetti														RMS Template:Small			MED Template:Small	DAN	OUL	MEX	RAN	NAT
		Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8													SOL Template:Small	KAN
1963	Ecurie Filipinetti	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	LOM Template:Small	GLV	PAU Template:Small	IMO Template:Small	SYR Template:Small	AIN	INT
	Siffert Racing Team										ROM Template:Small	SOL Template:Small	KAN	MED Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	OUL Template:Small	RAN
1964	Siffert Racing Team	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	DMT	NWT	SYR Template:Small	AIN	INT Template:Small
		Brabham BT11							SOL Template:Small	MED Template:Small	RAN
1965	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Brabham BT11	BRM P56 1.5 V8	ROC Template:Small	SYR Template:Small	SMT Template:Small	INT	MED Template:Small	RAN Template:Small
1966	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Brabham BT11	BRM P56 1.5 V8	RSA Template:Small
		Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12		SYR Template:Small
		Cooper T80				INT Template:Small	OUL
1967	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12	ROC Template:Small	SPC	INT Template:Small	SYR Template:Small	OUL
	Bayerische Motoren Werke	Lola T100	BMW M12 2.0 L4						ESP Template:Small
1968	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Lotus 49	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ROC Template:Small	INT Template:Small	OUL
1969	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Lotus 49B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ROC Template:Small	INT Template:Small	MAD	OUL
1971	Jo Siffert Automobiles	March 701	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG Template:Small	ROC
	Yardley Team BRM	BRM P160	BRM P142 3.0 V12			QUE Template:Small		INT Template:Small	RIN	OUL	VIC Template:Small
		BRM P153					SPR Template:Small
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Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
1965	Template:Flagicon J.H. Simone	Template:Flagicon Jochen Neerpasch	Maserati Tipo 65	P +5.0	3	DNF	DNF
1966	Template:Flagicon Porsche System Engineering	Template:Flagicon Colin Davis	Porsche 906/6L Carrera 6	P 2.0	339	4th	1st
1967	Template:Flagicon Porsche System Engineering	Template:Flagicon Hans Herrmann	Porsche 907/6L	P 2.0	358	5th	1st
1968	Template:Flagicon Porsche System Engineering	Template:Flagicon Hans Herrmann	Porsche 908	P 3.0	59	DNF	DNF
1969	Template:Flagicon Hart Ski Racing	Template:Flagicon Brian Redman	Porsche 908/2L	P 3.0	60	DNF	DNF
1970	Template:Flagicon John Wyer Automotive Engineering Ltd.	Template:Flagicon Brian Redman	Porsche 917K	S 5.0	156	DNF	DNF
1971	Template:Flagicon John Wyer Automotive Engineering Ltd.	Template:Flagicon Derek Bell	Porsche 917LH	S 5.0		DNF	DNF
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Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Template:Tooltip	Pts
Template:F2	Bayerische Motoren Werke	Lola T100	BMW M11	SNE	SIL Template:Small	NÜR Template:Small	HOC	TUL	JAR	ZAN	PER	BRH	VAL Template:Small		NC	0
Template:F2	Bayerische Motoren Werke	Lola T102	BMW M11	HOC	THR	JAR	PAL	TUL	ZAN	PER	HOC Template:Small	VAL Template:Small			NC	0
Template:F2	Bayerische Motoren Werke	Lola T102	BMW M11	THR Template:Small	HOC	NÜR Template:Small	JAR	TUL							NC	0Template:Smallsup
		BMW 269							PER Template:Small	VAL
Template:F2	Bayerische Motoren Werke	BMW 270	BMW M11	THR Template:Small	HOC	BAR	ROU Template:Small	PER Template:Small	TUL Template:Small	IMO Template:Small	HOC				NC	0Template:Smallsup
Template:F2	Jo Siffert - Chevron Racing Team	Chevron B18	Cosworth FVA	HOC	THR Template:Small	NÜR Template:Small	JAR	PAL Template:Tooltip	ROU	MAN	TUL	ALB	VAL	VAL	NC	0
Template:Small {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}

Template:Smallsup Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points

Complete World Sportscar Championship results

• Dagger = Won class

<ref>https://www.racingsportscars.com/driver/results/Jo-Siffert-CH.html</ref>

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
1961	Robert Jenny	Ferrari 500 TRC	Ferrari Straight-4	S 2.0	SEB	TGA	NÜR Template:Small	LMS	PES
1963	Scuderia Filipinetti	Ferrari 250 GTO	Ferrari V12	GTIII (3.0)	DAY	SEB	TGA	SPA Template:Small	NÜR Template:Small	MZ1	CON	WIE	CLF	SLD	RTT
	Jo Siffert	Lotus	BRM													OLV Template:Small	MZ2	TDF	BHP
1964	Team Schiller	Porsche 904	Porsche Flat-4	GTII (2.0)	DAY	SEB	TGA	SPA	NÜR Template:Small	LMS	RMS Template:Small	SLD	ENN	CRA	MZA	BH1	BH2	MLY
	Shelby American	Shelby Cobra	Ford V8	GTIII (3.0)					NÜR		RMS	SLD Template:Small	TTR	CRA	BHP
	Maranello Concessionaires	Ferrari 250 GTO	Ferrari V12													TDF Template:Small
1965	J. Simone	Maserati Tipo 65	Maserati V8	P+5.0	DAY	SEB	MZA	TTR	TGA	SPA	NÜR	LMS Template:Small	RMS	BHP
1966	Charles Vögele	Porsche 906	Porsche Flat-6	IMC	DAY	SEB Template:Small	MZA Template:Small	TGA	SPA	NÜR Template:Small		HOC
	Porsche System										LMS Template:SmallTemplate:Dagger
	Charles Vögele			ISCC S1	SEB	TGA	NÜ1	MUG Template:Small	ENN	CRA	NÜ2
	Porsche System											ZEL Template:Small
1967	Porsche System	Porsche 910	Porsche Flat-6	P+2.0	DAY Template:SmallTemplate:Dagger	SEB Template:SmallTemplate:Dagger	MZA Template:Small	SPA Template:SmallTemplate:Dagger	TGA Template:Small	NÜ1 Template:Small		MUG Template:Small	BRH Template:Small	ENN	NÜ2
		Porsche 907 LH	Porsche Flat-6								LMS Template:Small
1968	Porsche System	Porsche 907 LH	Porsche Flat-8	P	DAY Template:Small
		Porsche 907				SEB Template:Small	BRH Template:Small		TGA Template:Small
		Porsche 908/01						MZA Template:Small		NÜR Template:Small	SPA	WGN Template:Small	ZEL Template:Small	LMS Template:Small
1969	Porsche System	Porsche 908 LH	Porsche Flat-8	P 3.0	DAY Template:Small			MZA Template:Small		SPA Template:Small
		Porsche 908/02K				SEB Template:Small	BRH Template:Small		TGA		NÜR Template:Small		WGN Template:Small
		Porsche 908/02 LH										LMS Template:Small
		Porsche 917	Porsche Flat-12	S 5.0										ÖST Template:Small
1970	John Wyer Automotive Engineering	Porsche 917K	Porsche Flat-12	S 5.0	DAY Template:Small	SEB Template:Small	BRH Template:Small	MZA Template:Small		SPA Template:Small		LMS Template:Small	WGN Template:Small	ÖST Template:Small
		Porsche 908/03	Porsche Flat-8	P 3.0					TGA Template:Small		NÜR Template:Small
1971	John Wyer Automotive Engineering	Porsche 917K	Porsche Flat-12	S 5.0	BUE Template:Small	DAY Template:Small	SEB Template:Small	BRH Template:Small	MZA Template:Small	SPA Template:Small				ÖST Template:Small	WGN Template:Small
		Porsche 908/03	Porsche Flat-8	P 3.0							TGA Template:Small	NÜR Template:Small
		Porsche 917LH	Porsche Flat-12	S 5.0									LMS Template:Small

Other results

• Targa Florio: 1st, 1970
• Coppa Cittá di Enna: 1st, 1968
• 12 hours of Sebring: 1st, 1968
• 24 hours of Daytona: 1st, 1968
• 1000 km of Nürburgring: 1st, 1968, 1969
• 1000 km of Spa-Francorchamps: 1st, 1969, 1970
• 1000 km of Zeltweg: 1st, 1968, 1969, 1970
• 1000 km of Monza: 1st, 1969
• 1000 km of Buenos Aires: 1st, 1971
• 6 Hours of Watkins Glen: 1st, 1969
• 1000 km of Brands Hatch: 1st, 1968

Sources

• Template:Cite AV media

F1 Results include information from the following sources:

• Template:Cite book
• {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}

• {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}

External links

• Official Jo Siffert web site (German and French) by Philippe Siffert, Jo's son Template:Webarchive
• Jo Siffert fan page authorized by Simone Siffert, Jo's second wife
• Biography at der Blick (German)